Carpe Diem
by Anjirika
Summary: Set just after S3 E24 "Knockout". The relationship between the writer and his muse is tested in ways that they never imagined. Will Kate survive the bullet? Will she remember what Castle said? Read and Review to find out.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: The characters of the show CASTLE do not belong to me, they belong to ABC

Author's Note: How could the plot bunnies not multiply after the third season finale? Enjoy and please leave a review.

**Carpe Diem **

**Chapter 1**

Sirens. Screeching tires. Noises of a hospital. All manner of sounds assaulted Richard Castle's ears but he felt as though he was numb inside. He sat, unmoving in the emergency surgery waiting room while the woman he had grown to love, his partner and friend, Homicide Detective Kae Beckett was fighting for her life. Despite taking precautions that no one had known about, the bullet that had meant to kill her hadn't done the job right away but it had left enough damage that the Doctors were unsure as to whether or not she'd pull through.

Ryan and Esposito, sat across from Castle both of them lost in silent thought. Laney sat beside Esposito and Jenny sat beside Ryan. The two couples took soalce in each other, and in the one glance that Castle had given them he couldnt help but think of the injustice of the world as his eyes flicked to Kate's father.

Castle couldn't believe how stupid he had been. Hadn't his mother told him not to waste another moment? Hadn't she told him that he needed to speak up? Before the death of their fearless leader Montgomory, Castle had been sick to his stomach thinking how Kate could get herself killed and he had resolved to tell her how much he cared... but he was almost sure that he had waited to late.

_Don't think like that_, he chastised himself as he stared at the floor, squinting to ensure that the tears that were threatening to fall didn't show. He wouldn't let himself think the worst. How could he? It would be like condemming her to death while she was there in surgery fighting for her life. _You can't think like that. She'll survive. She has too. I love her. _

"Dad?" asked a soft voice causing Castle to look up. There walking towards him was his daughter Alexis, accompanied by his mother. Both of them looked beyond worried and Castle could do nothing but hug them. "Oh Dad..." Alexis cried.

"Shh," he soothed as he placed a kiss on top of his daughters head. "She'll be okay."

"Oh Dad are you sure?" Alexis asked as she slumped down into one of the charis.

Castle nodded. "I'm sure."

"Richard," Martha began in a warning voice, fully prepared to give her son what-for for nearly getting himself killed yet again but the look on his face and the pain in his eyes silenced her at once. For Martha could see what she had seen for the last couple years only intensified. "You told her," she stated knowingly. "Didn't you."

Castle sat down beside his daughter. "How could I not?"

"How could you not what?" asked Alexis, not sure as to what they were talking about.

Martha looked down at her grand-daughter. "Your father told her how he feels,"

Alexis looked to her father in surprise. "Did you?" she asked. "Did you really?"

Castle nodded but couldn't say anymore. The weight of what was going on was finally crashing all around him. His feelings, the adrenaline, the worry, the panic they were all tumbling about in his head and Castle felt as though he was going to have to scream. But just at that moment, a Doctor walked in and Castle was instantly on his feet again.

"Well?" he asked expectantly. "How is she?"

"Still in critical condition," the surgeon admitted. "But we've patched her up as best as we can. The blood loss that she suffered from the bullet passing through her spleen could prove to be problematic when she wakes up."

"What does that mean?" Ryan asked as he and the oher three came to stand near Castle.

"It means that there could be some brain damange, temporary or otherwise."

"But will she be okay?" Castle asked.

"Okay is relative Mr. Castle," the Doctor stated. "It's really all up to her now."

"Can we see her?" Kate's father asked, his face relaxing when the Doctor nodded.

"Just family right now, as she's still in the ICU."

Kate's father nodded and allowed the Doctor to lead him away, leaving the rest of them, the people who considered themselves to be Kate's family as well to wait. "Come on," Laney whispered to everyone. "There's nothing more we can do here. She's pulled through the surgery. We should all go home."

"Yeah," Ryan agreed relcuctantly as he put his arm around Jenny. "I suppose we should."

"See you soon bro?" Esposito asked, looking at Castle.

Castle nodded but said nothing.

Once the two couples were gone, Castle sat back down.

"Dad?" Alexis asked. "Aren't you coming?"

Castle shook his head. "No."

"Oh Richard,"

"Don't 'oh Richard' me mother," he warned. "She's not out of the woods yet."

"She's doing the best considering the circumstances,"

"No the best would have been her not getting shot at all."

"Dad,"

"I'm staying," Castle snapped. "And that's that."

Martha took Alexis by the hand and led the teenager out of the emergency waiting room, whispering to her grandaughter all the reasons as to why her father was staying behind. Alexis was a smart kid, she knew exactly how her father felt for the Detective. In fact she figured that she had realized how he felt before the thought had ever really crossed his mind, but that didn't make her feel any easier leaving her father alone waiting for news about the woman he loved.

Meanwhile, Kate's father was just sitting down at her bedside. She was hooked up to machines that were monitoring her vitals and bringing things too and from her inner workings. As strong as a man as he was, Kate's father couldn't bare the thought of his little girl hurt, let alone the sight.

There was a huge crushing weight on his chest and he wondered whether or not he would have to bury his child just as he had to do with his wife. "Hang in there Katie," he whispered as he took her hand. "You've got to hang in there."

Kate's father might have expected or rather hoped for a response from his daughter, but all he got in return was the sound of the hopsital. Silent, and deadly.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: The characters of the show CASTLE do not belong to me, they belong to ABC

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Wow. Fifty-two story alerts. I've never had that many people following my story before. Ever. Now if all of you left a review... ;) I write for you guys. I write so that you have something to read while we endure the torturous wait of summer. Thank you so much for your support, and to my five reviewers, thank you SO much. Your words mean a lot. And now, chapter two.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Two <strong>

_Stay with me...stay with me..._ the voice pleaded with her and Kate did her best to focus on the voice which belonged to the man that she cared deeply for. _I love you,_ he whispered, as though that would change the fact that she had just been shot. _I love you Kate. _

Kate Beckett wanted nothing more than to tell Richard Castle that she loved him too, that she was willing to dive into a relationship with him and that she was willing to take a stand with him by her side, but the protective vest that she had thought to wear hadn't done enough. The pain overwhelmed her, and Kate found herself falling into darkness.

...

Castle had no idea how long he had been sitting in the emergency waiting room. But he was sure that it hadn't been nearly as long as his mind was making it out to be. He had seem various emergency situations come and go and he even caught the sight of Josh wheeling a patient to one of the surgery rooms. Seeing Kate's boyfriend made his blood boil, but Castle was very surprised at the unconcerned look on the doctor's face and he figured that no one had told him what had happened.

He was about to stand to go and let Josh know, mainly for his own peace of mind when Kate's attending surgeon came into the waiting room. "Good gracious, it's Mr. Castle right?"

Castle turned and nodded. "It is. Is she...?"

"Oh still the same," the doctor assured. "But what are you doing here?"

"You said that only family could be with her now and well, I didn't want to go home and..." Castle trailed off, feeling like a little lost kid. He didn't know why he was there. In the hours that he had spent waiting in the emergency room he had convinced himself that Kate didn't love him, that she'd never love him and that his confession had probably come too late.

"And I think that you've waited long enough," the doctor assured with a sympathetic smile. "Come on. I'll take you to her room."

...

It was the steady beat of the heart monitor that brought Kate back to consciousness, that and the fact that she could hear voices.

"I'm surprised that you're still here."

That was the voice of her father.

"You know that I couldn't leave her."

That was Castle. Kate wanted to reach out to him but she felt to tired and so groggy and without her controlling it, she found herself slipping back into unconsciousness.

...

"You're right," Jim said with a sigh. "I should have known... pull up a chair."

Castle did as he was told and felt only a little bit better at seeing how Kate was breathing. "She looks so tiny there," he muttered aloud, catching her father's eye. "Every time I'm with her I'm always struck at how big her personality is. How strong her confidence is..." Castle paused and glanced back to Kate. "I don't like seeing her like this."

"No," he agreed. "Neither do I. But let's thank our lucky stars that we're only seeing her like this, and not in the morgue."

Castle nodded. The thought that Kate still could die flirted around the edges of his mind but he wouldn't let it gain hold. Even though the thought that she couldn't and wouldn't love him permeated his entire being, he focused on the thought that if she survived then all would be right in the world.

The two men, the two closest men in Kate's life at that moment sat in stony silence watching her breathe and sleep. Only once did their vigil get interrupted and that was by Josh who was making the rounds.

"I'm sorry but visiting hours are," he began but his voice was cut off when he saw Kate lying in the bed. "Oh god. What happened?"

"She got shot," Castle stated plainly. "At Montgomery's funeral. The one that you were supposed to attend with her."

Josh looked panic stricken, and guilty. "I got called in."

"Do you know what she was saying just before she got shot?" Castle asked as he stood up, putting all his pain and anger into the words that he directed at Josh. "She was saying how the best thing we can do in this world is find someone to stand with against the battles that we must face. Clearly you're not willing to face them with her."

"I am," Josh stated, though his voice said otherwise.

Castle shook his head. "No," he stated firmly. "You're not. You're not and I am."

"Son," Jim stated as he too stood. "I think that you'd better leave."

Josh merely looked between the two men before nodding. He turned to leave but then stopped in the doorway. "I do care for her," he stated under his breath, loud enough for Castle to hear. "But clearly she has better people in her life right now."

When Josh was gone, Castle slumped down in his seat. All his anger was gone and all that was left was a resounding emptiness. An emptiness, he observed, that would not be filled until Kate woke up.

"You're a mighty brave man Castle," her father stated with an approving nod. "I'm glad that my daughter has someone like you to watch over her."

"If only I had been watching a little closer," Castle berated himself. "I saw the flash of the sniper rifle. I knew what was going to happen but I couldn't make it compute fast enough in my head. Maybe if I had..."

"Maybe if you had you'd be the one lying there or worse and I'd still be here, with a heartbroken Katie to console."

"But at least she'd be alright."

Jim shook his head. "We can't rewrite the past Castle. All we can do is look forward to the future and seize every moment that comes along. Katie loves you. When she wakes up..."

"Don't you mean if she wakes up?"

"When she wakes up," Jim continued. "I know that she'll tell you."

Castle sighed and it was a heavy sigh of a man tortured.

Jim gave him a sympathetic smile, all he could muster. "Watch her for a while will you? I'm going to find the nurses and let them know that both of us will be staying."

"But visiting hours...?"

"Visiting hours be damned," Jim stated firmly. "She's my daughter and I'm staying. If I stay, so do you. No questions asked."

Castle nodded and watched as Jim Beckett left the room, leaving Castle alone with Kate. Silence descended upon him, no thoughts crossed his mind. He was all consumed by the rise and fall of her chest, and the steady beat of the heart monitor.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: The characters of the show CASTLE do not belong to me, they belong to ABC.

Author's Note: First, just so you all know, I'm going to update this story every Monday for the rest of the summer (and beyond maybe). This will allow me to take my time with the chapters. Thank you all for the support. I can't believe how many of you are following this little story of mine. And thank you to those of you who are reviewing, I love hearing what you think. Please take the time to review this chapter!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

The moment Jim exited his daughters room, he nearly ran right into Josh. "Son," he began sternly. "I thought I told you to leave."

Josh shook his head. "I'm her boyfriend," he stated, stressing his title. "I have a right to be in there with her."

"Do you?" Jim pressed. "Do you really?"

"Course I do."

"Do you love her?"

"Course I do."

"No," Jim sighed. "I don't believe that you do."

Josh's brow furrowed in anger. "What gives you the right...?"

"I'm her father," Jim answered.

"But I—"

"Care for her," he supplemented. "I realize that."

"Then stand aside and let me sit with her."

"Castle's watching her right now,"

"He has no right to be in there," Josh stated, his voice quivering with anger.

"Richard Castle loves my daughter,"

"She's just his muse."

Jim shook his head. "No it's more than that, and if you can't see it..."

Josh opened his mouth to protest when his beeper went off. After clicking the beeper off he looked back up at Kate's father. "This isn't over."

"Yes," Jim insisted. "Yes it is."

...

Castle sat in his chair, near Kate's feet but after a couple moments of that, he decided that he needed to be closer to her. He moved to the seat near the head of the bed. He could feel his eyes drooping. The last couple days had utterly exhausted him and the emotional drain of the last couple hours had nearly done him in.

_But I won't fall asleep_, he told himself firmly. _I have to stay awake, for her..._ he paused in his internal ramblings to look down at Kate. Even in her sleeping and semi-stable state, Castle felt nothing but overwhelming love for her. The thought of losing her was enough to make him feel like he couldn't breathe.

"Come on Kate..." he whispered aloud as he took her hand. "You've got to pull through. You're a fighter." Castle paused and absentmindedly brushed his thumb over the back of her hand. He closed his ears and brought his head forward so it was laying next to her face. "Oh Kate..." he begged. "Please."

...

Kate felt herself rising to consciousness once again. There was a gentle pressure on her hand that she couldn't ignore and there was the fact that every ounce of her being was trying to wake up to let her friends and loved ones that she was alright.

_Dad,_ Kate thought to herself as she began to wake up. _I need to tell Dad that I'm okay...and Castle. I need—_

"Oh Kate," a voice whispered in her ear. A voice belonging to Castle. "Please."

The tone in his voice was pleading, so much so that it nearly broke Kate's heart.

"Please," he repeated. "Don't leave me."

Despite her drugged up state, Kate couldn't help but smile internally. "Couldn't get rid of you, even if I tried." She whispered, or at least tried to whisper. She wasn't sure whether or not she had actually said something until she felt the pressure on her hand increase.

"Kate?" Castle asked more urgently. "Kate? Can you hear me."

"Here," she said, though being more awake she realized that her word came out more like a moan.

"Kate if you can hear me open your eyes."

Kate tried to do as she asked, but found them too heavy.

"Kate," he pleaded. "Open your eyes."

Not wanting to disappoint him. Kate forced her eyes open. Though blurry at first, when they focused she was pleased to see Castle's face before her. His own eyes were wide with disbelief.

"Hey," she whispered as she squeezed his hand.

"Hey yourself," he whispered back.

"Did you guys catch that son-of-a-bitch who shot me?"

Castle shook his head. "They searched, Ryan and Esposito. Before the ambulance arrived but no. Not a trace."

Kate sighed and closed her eyes. She must have left them closed a moment too long because she felt Castle move even closer. "Kate?"

"Here," she assured opening her eyes again. "I'm here."

Castle nodded and Kate could see that he wanted to say so much.

"I'm not going anywhere," she assured. "I have too much to live for. I..."

"Katie?" asked her father as he re-entered the room, stopping Kate from saying what it was that she wanted to say. "You're awake?"

Kate looked apologetically at Castle first before looking at her Dad. "Apparently," she answered. "Though I'm so very tired."

"I'm going to get your attending physician," Castle stated suddenly as he stood up, pulling away from Kate. "Or someone, you know...to make sure that you don't have a concussion or something."

Without saying another word, and before anyone could say anything else, Castle was gone. Leaving Kate alone with her father who just shook his head and smiled as he sat down.

"What?" asked Kate. "What is it?"

"You didn't let him know, did you."

"Let him know what?" Kate asked, suddenly shy and wanting to play dumb despite the fact that she was talking to her Dad.

Jim sighed. "He loves you Katie."

Kate nodded before she could stop herself.

"You know?" he asked. "Since when?"

"Since he told me," she answered with a small smile, feeling like a giddy school girl despite the pain. "I heard him."

Jim nodded. "I'm glad. But you're going to have to let him know. Sooner or later."

"I know Dad," Kate agreed with a sigh. "I just have to find the right time."

...

Castle didn't know what to do. Kate was alive. Really alive. Talking and awake alive. He felt like half the world had been lifted from his shoulders but he realized with a heavy heart that she hadn't let on that she had heard his confession. Castle knew that he had been sincere when he had said it. It was a confession borne out of the paralysing feeling that he would never have the chance to say it to Kate when her eyes were open again.

Now, hours after he had admitted that he loved her, Castle was worried that if Kate had heard him then her silence on the subject was an admission of not feeling the same. On the other hand, if she hadn't heard him, Castle didn't know if he'd be able to work up the courage again to tell her how he felt. The third option, that she did hear him but was just too disoriented to say anything yet did not even cross his mind.

Lost in a haze, Castle wasn't watching where he was going and ended up nearly running right into the one person that he had hoped not to see again for a while. Josh.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: The characters of the show CASTLE do not belong to me, they belong to ABC.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Thank you guys for reading this story and putting it on your alerts. Thank you to CastleandBeckett-always, xfcastle, MoonlightGardenias and nourgelitnius for reviewing the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy the next one and PLEASE take the time to review at the end. I love hearing what you think.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

Josh's face was like a thundercloud, dark and dangerous. Castle knew the instant that he had looked up that he was in trouble. But Castle did what he did best, put on a smile and pretended that everything was alright.

"Hi there Josh," he greeted warmly. "Fancy seeing you here."

"This is where I work," Josh answered coldly. "You know that."

Castle nodded. "Yes. Yes I do."

"I want you to know that it isn't going to work."

Castle furrowed his brow. "Huh?"

"You trying to take Kate away from me."

Castle felt his heart constrict but he wasn't about to give Josh the satisfaction of knowing how he really felt. "I think she's a big girl," he answered at last, trying to seem beyond the whole situation in the hopes that Josh would just leave hi alone. "Kate can make her own decisions."

"She's been through a trying experience," Josh snapped. "I don't want her running into the arms of the first man who she happens o see by her bedside."

Castle grinned despite himself. "Uh well, that was me."

Josh clenched his fists. "I want you to stay away from her."

"Are you kidding me?" Castle asked with a laugh, despite the fact that he knew that he should have been taking Josh's threat seriously.

"I'm not kidding," Josh said menacingly. "Stay away."

"I'm her partner," Castle defended. "We work together."

"You're a writer," Josh corrected. "She's your inspiration."

"She's also my friend," Castle interjected.

"Well I want you to stop being her friend."

Castle shook his head. "You don't have the right."

"I'm her boyfriend," Josh argued. "I have the right."

Castle opened his mouth to say something but in the end he realized that Josh was right. Josh was Kate's boyfriend, he wasn't. Josh was a Doctor out to save the world, he was just a writer trying to get his stories out into the world. Josh seemed heroic while Castle was... what had Kate called him? The funniest kid in school?

Was that all she really saw him as? A goof? A clown? Castle wanted to be so much more to Kate than that. He wasn't sure when he had first fallen in love with her but he knew that it had happened sometime after Heat Wave had been published. Kate was an enigma to him before that. He had learnt bits and pieces of his past but he felt that he hadn't really known her.

And then before he realized it everything had changed. They had changed. There was their usual banter but there was an underlying current that Castle worked hard to ignore, and in his self-aggrandizing moments he thought that Kate had been thinking the same thing. Castle was sure that he was going to make a move, to tell Kate how he was really feeling but then she had gotten a boyfriend and Castle had sought solace in the arms of a former wife.

Then came his stay in the Hamptons. Castle couldn't count how many times he had picked up the phone to call Kate, to see if there was anything that he could have done from his self-induced writing prison, but every time that he had picked up the phone a little voice in his head whispered that she was happy and that he had no right to get in the way of that.

And so he had stayed away.

Castle thought that it was for the best but when he returned and he saw how hurt she had been at being ignored for three months, he felt the first fluttering of hope that she felt an iota for him, what he felt for her.

Things really had changed in the last year. They had shared a heart-stopping, soul-wrenching kiss while undercover. They had faced potential radiation poisoning, freezing to death and a dirty bomb. The radiation and the bomb had been scary, heart wrenching moments but it had been in the freezer when Kate had showed her true vulnerability and Castle had been sure that she was going to tell him that she cared a lot for him.

But of course Kate didn't and then they were saved. Josh was there to keep them both alive and then they never spoke about it. Castle knew that he would follow Kate to the ends of the Earth to make her happy and to find her mother's killer but he wasn't sure if she would do the same for him.

_But she said that it was a gift to find someone to stand by you in the battle of life, _he thought to himself as Josh stared him down. _She must know that I'm willing to stand with her... _

"I see that the writer is without words," Josh smirked.

Castle shook his head. "You are her boyfriend in name only," he stated firmly, more sure of what he was saying than he really felt. "I have been standing beside Kate as she has fought all the battles she's needed to fight in the last three years and I'm not going anywhere..." Castle paused and took a deep breath. "I love her and nothing that you say or do can change that."

Josh took a deep, and clearly calming breath. Castle thought that the man was going to deck him or worse. But instead, the doctor merely nodded. "Kate is lucky to have two people who care for her so much."

"I'm glad that you feel that way."

"And I think that she should choose," Josh continued, a self-knowing, all-important smirk on his face as though he felt that Kate would choose a doctor over a writer. "Let her decide whether it'll be you or me."

Castle gritted his teeth for a moment trying to keep his feelings and emotions and anger reigned it. "That's what I've wanted from the very beginning," he stated being as honest as he could in front of the man who could potentially take Kate away from him forever. "I only want Kate to be happy..."

"She'll be happier with me."

"You don't know that," Castle argued. "You can't know that. It's not as though I'm a poor starving, struggling artists. I have millions of books sold. Heat Wave is being turned into a movie. If it was all about the money then we're about even, maybe I have an edge. But it's not about that. It's about how she feels about us. Which one of us she wants to stand with."

"It'll be me."

Castle shook his head. "Kate is nothing but unpredictable, and I wouldn't dare to presume what's in her heart..." Castle paused as he saw Kate's attending physician down the hall. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to let her doctor know that she's awake."

And before Josh could get another word in edge wise, Castle was walking down the hall and had already called out to Kate's attending physician.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: The characters of the show CASTLE do not belong to me, they belong to ABC.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

"So you tell me that she's awake?" Kate's attending physician asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," Castle answered excitedly. "Is that good?"

"Well let me take a look at her and we'll see..." the Doctor trailed off as they approached Kate's room. The door was open and they could hear laughing from the inside. They entered to see Kate smiling and laughing at something. "Well I see that you are doing much better Miss Beckett," the Doctor continued.

"Yes sir," she answered with a smile, glancing only briefly at Castle. "Though I'm still feeling a little sore."

"Well that's to be expected," the Doctor answered as he checked over her vitals. "Well it seems that you've pulled through the worst of it... we're going to keep you a couple of days to make sure that you're healing alright."

Castle let out and audible sigh and the moment he did so, he caught Kate's eye. There within was an unreadable expression, and all the self-doubt that he had been feeling before came crushing back— especially considering the fact that he knew that he was going to have to fight for her.

_But is fighting the best thing?_ He thought dejectedly to himself as he sat down in the chair by her bed. _I mean isn't love letting go? Shouldn't I let her choose? And not try to make her life miserable by forcing her to choose me?_

_But you love her,_ another voice inside his head chastised.

_Of course I love her _

_So how could you even think of letting her go _

_That's right,_ he agreed with himself. _When I thought that she was— _he couldn't even bring himself to think of the word. _I thought that my world was over. There's just no way that I'm going to let her go without a fight. _

"Castle?" asked Kate, bringing him out of his internal musings.

"Uh yeah?" he asked.

"The Doctor said that you could go home," she answered.

Castle looked around the room and saw that her father and the Doctor had gone.

"You uh, need to get some rest?" he asked.

Kate nodded. "Apparently."

They lapsed into silence. Castle didn't move, and Kate didn't ask him to. To both of them the pressure of the silence grew between them and within their hearts until they both snapped at the same time.

"Castle I—"

"Kate do you—"

Both stopped mid-sentence.

"You first," Kate insisted.

Castle shook his head. "No. You first."

Kate sighed and leaned back into her pillows. "I just..." she paused, and Castle could see that there was something weighing heavily on her mind. "I just..." she paused again and looked up. Castle could see her eyes narrow before they widened. "Josh?"

He turned and saw Josh standing in the doorway with a bouquet of flowers. "Hey babe," he greeted with a smile. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

Kate smiled and had Castle been paying attention he would have seen how it was a forced smile. "Thanks... the flowers are absolutely beautiful."

Josh grinned. "Pretty flowers for a pretty lady."

"Listen," Castle interjected harshly as he stood up, jealous beyond compare and knowing that if he didn't get out of the hospital room quick, he was going to belt Josh.

"Castle?" she asked, her voice soft.

Castle turned away from Josh and focused on Kate. With a deep sigh, he reigned in his anger at Josh. "I'm really glad that you're alright," he stated with a soft smile which he hoped conveyed all that he was feeling for her. "You have no idea how worried I was."

Kate smiled warmly at Castle. "Thank you," she stated with a smile. "For everything," she added, hoping that he could glean from those two words exactly what she meant.

At that moment, Josh's beeper went off and he sighed loudly.

"The work of a Doctor is never done," he lamented as he placed the flowers beside Kate's bed. "I'll swing by as soon as I'm able love."

Kate looked to Josh and then to Castle.

"Castle could I have a couple of moments alone with Josh?"

Castle nodded, his hopes crashing to the ground. "Sure. No problem," he stated bitterly as he went towards the door. "I'll stay out of your way."

"No, Castle that's not what I—" Kate protested as he left the room. With a shuddering sigh she tried to keep her composure. She had watched her partner walk away too many times and for some reason she felt as though she would never see Castle again.

"Hey babe it's alright," Josh soothed. "Let the writer do what he does..."

"And what is it that he does?" Kate asked, her metaphorical hackles rising.

"He snoops in on people's private moments and then uses them for fodder in his drabbles."

Kate could barely contain her fury. "What Rick does is a hell of a lot more than drabbles."

"Oh, so it's Rick now?"

Kate bit down on her lower lip. "Josh—"

"You know I may not be following you like a lost little dog," Josh stated angrily. "But that doesn't mean that you should indulge his fantasy's the way that you do."

There were so many things that Kate could say to that, but instead she chose the most obvious. "What fantasies."

Josh laughed, it sounded like a scoff, but Kate could hear the bitterness laced within.

"Josh," she asked again. "What fantasies?"

"Oh come now Kate it's not really my place,"

"Josh," she stated evenly. "What. Fantasies?"

"He fancies himself to be good for you."

"Good for me?"

Josh nodded.

"How so?"

"Well he fancies himself to be in love with you," Josh answered. "Though we both know that that's not really true. After all, he's had so many women over the years if the tabloids are to be believed. He's not the stable sort. He's the bad boy, the class clown who's just happy chasing you around, doing something truly exciting for once in his life and—"

"Josh," she interrupted. "Leave."

Josh looked at her and nodded. "Course love, you're tired."

"No."

"You want me to stay?" he asked.

"No," she answered coldly.

"Then what?"

"I want you to leave," she whispered harshly.

"But you—"

"I want you to leave and never darken my doorway again."

Josh's face fell. "Kate?"

"I was willing to let you down easy Josh," she explained. "But you insulted Castle and that's something that I just can't abide."

"Let me down easy?"

"I'm breaking up with you."

Josh's eyes narrowed. "Is it because of him?"

She nodded. "He loves me."

"You don't know that," Josh defended.

"I do," she assured, thinking back to those last moments before she lost consciousness. "He told me."

"He... told you?"

Kate nodded. "And I—"

"You actually love that playboy?"

Kate's eyes narrowed. "Castle is NOT a playboy. Not anymore."

Josh opened his mouth to speak but then shut it again.

"This isn't over," he stated as he stood up.

"Yes," she assured as she threw his flowers at him. "It is."

Kate watched with smug satisfaction as Josh left her room. _Now if only Castle were here..._ she thought to herself. _There's so much that I've got to tell him. _

TBC

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Sorry for the somewhat late reply. I started a new job last week and this chapter got left behind. I do hope that you enjoyed it. Thank you a thousand times to all of you who have reviewed so far and have put this story on your alert list. It means a lot. I hope that you'll take the time to review this chapter and I'll see you all again next Monday.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

DISCLAIMER: The characters of the show CASTLE do not belong to me, they belong to ABC.

**Chapter Six **

"There now," one of the night nurses stated as she pulled the needle out of Kate's IV. "That should help with the pain tonight."

"Thank you," Kate stated quietly as she leaned back into the pillows of her bed. "I really appreciate the help."

The nurse smiled at Kate. "It's my job to keep you comfortable."

"Well I think that I might just be able to get some sleep."

The nurse nodded. "Sleep is the best thing for you."

With that said, the nurse disappeared and Kate found the pain lessening. With a yawn, she closed her eyes and tried to calm her spinning mind. There were so many questions left unanswered. Montgomery had told her that there was someone else that knew what had happened back in the day... the events that led up to her mother's death among others. That person who knew was either the person who had taken a shot at her, or had ordered the hit in the first place.

_And now that things are somewhat out in the open we're all going to have to be careful,_ she thought to herself as she began to drift off to sleep.

...

For Castle, the drive back to his apartment was one of the longest drives that he ever took. There was so much weighing on his mind. He felt like he was standing at the middle of a crossroads, in one direction was the uncertain future of starting something with Kate. In the other, was a certain future without her by his side. Castle wasn't sure how much longer his resolve would hold out. He knew as well as Josh did that in terms of stability, Josh was the sure pick.

And while he only wanted what was best for Kate, and even though he was willing to step aside for Kate to be happy there was a part of him that knew that he was the one that was best for her. _If only there was a way to make her see that,_ he thought to himself as he made his way up to his apartment. _I think she sees it, she did say that it was up to us to find someone willing to stand with us as we face the battles... and then she looked at me. Could that possibly mean that she's willing to stand with me?_

Castle shook the thought from his head. There was so much that he needed to figure out, starting with whether or not Kate had heard what he had admitted to her when she lay there in the moments that she had been shot. "If I can only talk to her without Josh being around," he muttered to himself as he let himself into his apartment.

"Dad?" asked a quiet voice.

Castle looked up to see Alexis and his mother standing on the stairs, clearly waiting for him. "Alexis?" he asked.

"Is Kate—"

"She's fine," Castle assured, smiling as relief flooded their faces. "She woke up a little while ago."

"Did you get to talk to her?" Martha asked as she walked down the stairs to join her son.

"A little."

"Did you tell her how you feel?" Alexis asked.

Castle shook his head. "I tried, but then Josh showed up."

"The doctor?" his daughter asked.

Castle grimaced. "The very same one."

"He works at that hospital?" Martha asked.

Castle nodded and slumped down onto the couch. "If you can believe it."

"Honestly I can't."

"I'm so sorry Dad,"

"Yeah," Castle agreed. "I'm sorry too."

"What are you going to do son?"

Castle shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly I don't know."

"You love the girl don't you?"

"More than anything," he replied.

"Then you've got to fight for her," Alexis exclaimed.

Castle smiled sadly at his daughter. "It's not so simple."

"How so?"

"How can I fight for something that might not even be there in the first place?" he asked. "I mean I could have been kidding myself for the past three years for all I know. Kate and I had that conversation you know," he continued. "How we go through so much together, and we never talk about it afterwards. Did you know that I kissed her while we were undercover?"

"Did you really?" Alexis asked, eyes wide.

"It was the most soul-searing kiss that I've ever—"

"Too much information Richard,"

"Sorry," he apologized. "But we never spoke about it. We're locked in a freezer and nearly die in each others arms and yet we never talk about it. There's so much that we haven't talk about..."

"Sounds like all that's what you really need to talk about," Martha pointed out.

Castle nodded. "And now I don't know if I'll get the chance. How can I confess my feelings when she's still attached to that rat Josh?"

"Oh darling I doubt that he's a rat," Martha stated.

"Well," Castle sighed. "Maybe not a rat but..."

"Everything will work out Dad," Alexis promised.

"How do you know that?"

"She survived being shot," she continued. "So all you've got to do is tell her how you feel."

"And if she doesn't feel the same?"

"Richard I'm sure that she does,"

"But if she doesn't,"

"Dad, I've seen the way she looks at you,"

"And how is that?" he asked his daughter.

"The same way that you look at her," Alexis stated with a smile.

"Are you sure Alexis?" Castle asked.

Alexis nodded. "So don't worry Dad. I'm sure that it'll all work out."

"Yeah," Castle stated with a nod, that turned into a yawn.

"Oh Richard you're absolutely exhausted," Martha sighed. "Why don't we all call it a night?"

"Sounds like a plan," Castle agreed. "We all need our sleep."

...

A noise invaded her consciousness and Kate just assumed that it was another one of the night nurses. But when she heard hurried whispers she knew that something was amiss. Kate tried to open her eyes, but found that she couldn't.

That's when the panic set in.

And the panic only intensified when she found herself being grabbed by rough, non-nurse hands.

_Oh god,_ she thought worriedly to herself as she drifted back into unconsciousness. _I'm being kidnapped. _

TBC

Author's Note: Dun, Dun, Dun... :D Sorry gang. But I can't make it too easy for Castle and Beckett or you guys right? See you next Monday and please leave a review!


	7. Chapter 7

DISCLAIMER: The characters of the show CASTLE do not belong to me, they belong to ABC.

Author's Note: Sorry for the late update guys. I've got an inner ear disturbance which means that I'm almost always dizzy...and that makes writing & staring at a computer screen quite hard. But here is this weeks chapter, please leave a review and let me know what you think!

**Chapter Seven **

He felt as though his world was coming to an end. There before him was the love of his life, and she was in a lot of trouble. He reached out to her, but found that he couldn't reach her. "Kate!" he called out as he sat up.

Castle blinked and realized that he wasn't trapped in the nightmare that was already fading from his mind. He was just in his own bed, and thankfully awake. _It was a dream,_ he thought as he rubbed his eyes. _Thank god it was nothing but a dre—_

The soft ring of his cell phone assaulted his ears. Confused at why someone would be calling in the middle of the night, Castle was slow to pick it up. But as his mind woke up he realized that it might be Jim calling about Kate.

"Hello?" he asked as he held the phone to his ear.

'Oh Castle thank god we got you,'

"Esposito?" Castle asked. "What is it?"

'It's Beckett bro,'

Castle felt as though his heart stopped. "What about her?"

'She's gone man.'

...

Kate drifted in and out of consciousness. There was a blindfold over her eyes so when she was awake she couldn't see where she was, and so she focused all her energy into listening. Muffled voices always seemed to be around her. Sometimes they seemed argumentative, and sometimes they seemed angry. Sometimes they were calm and sometimes there was no voices at all. And even though she was doing her best to listen, there was nothing that her drug-addled mind could put together that would help her figure out a way out of the kidnapping that she found herself in.

...

"What do you mean you don't know where she is?" Castle asked angrily as he confronted both Ryan and Esposito outside Kate's room. Her father Jim was there and he looked too shocked to even speak.

"They don't know," Ryan stated. "The nurse came to check on her, and then left to do her rounds."

"When she came back to check on her again," Esposito continued. "Beckett was gone."

"So what do we do?" Castle asked.

"We?" asked a new voice. Castle, Ryan, Esposito and Jim turned to see a woman in a business suit walking towards them. "Who is this we?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," Castle asked as he took a step forward to the woman. "Who are you?"

"I'm Captain Jillian Carter. I've been appointed by the mayor."

Ryan and Esposito shared a look.

"Your our new boss?" Ryan asked.

Captain Carter nodded. "That I am and I want you both back at the precinct now, there's nothing that can be done here."

"Well then I'll meet you guys there."

"I don't think so," Carter argued. "Mister Castle, while my predecessor might have been more open to having your presence around, I'm going to be running the twelfth a little differently. And there's just no place for you."

"But I—"

"Detectives Ryan, Esposito... time is ticking."

With that said, Captain Carter turned and walked away. Ryan and Esposito shot Castle an apologetic glance before following. Castle stood in the hallway feeling like he had been gutted. Worse than that it was like he was in a daze. Jim, Kate's father tried to talk to him but Castle didn't hear anything that he said.

A part of his brain was aware that he and some excuse and excused himself from Jim's presence and the next that he knew, he was walking through his front door. Like the night before, his mother and Alexis were standing there waiting for him.

"Dad?" she asked, worried the moment that she saw his face.

"Richard?" Martha asked, equally as worried. "What's happened?"

"Is Kate alright Dad?" Alexis asked. "She's not—"

"She's gone." Castle muttered.

"Oh Dad," Alexis cried.

"Oh Richard," his mother said at the same moment. "I'm sorry."

Castle shook his head. "She's not dead," he assured. "She's just gone."

"What do you mean Dad?" Alexis asked. "How can she be gone?"

"I mean that she's gone," Castle explained, feeling anger at the hopelessness of his situation. "Taken."

"Taken?" asked Martha. "Richard whatever do you mean?"

"I mean that one moment she was there, and the next she wasn't." Castle explained. "She was kidnapped. Taken, by the same people who probably killed Montgomery and were behind those murders that involved her mother."

Alexis's eyes were wide. "Oh Dad... why aren't you looking for her?"

Castle let out a bitter laugh. "Because the new captain of the twelfth has decided that I'm not a valuable member of the team anymore."

"So you're just giving up?" Martha asked as Castle walked to the kitchen and made himself a stiff drink which he downed in seconds. "That's not like you Richard."

"What can I do?" he asked with a shrug. "We've got no leads. There were no cameras in the hospital. No one saw her get taken. I can't help Ryan and Esposito because this new Captain has banned me from the precinct..." he paused momentarily and in a fi of anger and rage he threw his now empty glass and threw it against a wall.

"Richard," Martha chastised, though it was more because she felt that he could have hurt someone rather than for he fact that he was letting out his anger at the situation.

Castle leaned on the counter and put his head in his hands. "I don't know what to do..." he whispered in a voice that was barely audible to his mother and daughter. "I can't lose her... but I don't even know where to start."

Martha was about to suggest something when there was a knock at the door. Motioning to her grand-daughter to get the door she walked towards her son and put her arms on his shoulders. "I know that it seems hopeless now," she said at last. "But you and Beckett have been through too much to lose each other now and—"

"Dad?" Alexis interrupted as she cae back to the counter with a brown envelope in her hand. "You've got mail."

"Not right now Alexis," Martha chastised.

"But Dad you'll want to see this," Alexis insisted. "It's from Captain Montgomery."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

DISCLAIMER: The characters of the show CASTLE do not belong to me, they belong to ABC.

Author's Note: Sorry for the mega late update. I was super dizzy with Vertigo, and then I lost inspiration but watching some S3 Castle episodes brought me back in the mood. Please enjoy! And leave a review when you're done reading.

**Chapter Eight**

Castle didn't know what to say or do, he stared at the envelope in Alexis's hands. Whatever was in the manila envelope had something to do with the Captain's past and Castle wasn't sure if he was ready to open such a can of worms.

_But what if it helps you save Kate?_ A voice in his head asked.

And really, if Castle was being honest, that's all that it really came down to. If he could somehow use whatever information the Captain felt was important enough to impart to him, then he would have to use that to whatever advantage that he could.

"Dad?" Alexis asked as she held out the envelope. "Aren't you going to open it?"

"Yeah," Castle confirmed as he took the envelope from his daughter. "But I'm going to do it alone."

With that said, Castle turned and went into his study, closing the door behind him.

"Grandma," Alexis began quietly as she looked to Martha.

"I know darling," she replied as she wrapped her arms around Alexis. "But this is something that your father has to do on his own."

...

Kate's mind was doing it's best to throw off the shackles of her drug-addled fog, but it was all in vain. The muffled voices came closer and drifted farther away and Kate tried to hold onto some semblance of reality but it was no use, she quickly found herself drifting back into the dark.

...

Castle couldn't believe what he was reading. All the evidence that Montgomery had collected was now sitting in his hands, and it pointed to the man that the Captain had spoken of. _But this just can't be right,_ Castle thought wildly to himself as he tried to wrap his brain around what he was reading. _I know him, we're— okay we're not friends but we... _

_Ryan and Esposito,_ Castle continued, his mind jumping from one thing to another. _They need to see this, they need to act on this._ And without thinking of another thought, Castle quickly took pictures of all the pieces of information before placing them back into the envelope. He then left his apartment leaving a bewildered Martha and Alexis behind.

...

"With all due respect ma'am," Ryan began as apologetically as he could to Carter, trying to make their new boss understand that just sitting around doing nothing wasn't really the way that they operated. "We've got to get out there and chase down some leads."

"Leads are one thing," Carter argued. "But wild goose chases and suspect detective work are another thing all together."

"I might be able to help with that," Castle stated as he strode boldly forward.

Carter looked Castle up and down and for a moment the writer was sure that he could see a particular look in the woman's eyes, but the look was quickly veiled with disdain and mistrust. "Ah Mister Castle," she began apathetically. "How nice of you to enquire in the case, but I am afraid that we do not have time—"

"Please just hear me out," Castle pleaded as he held out his phone. "I've got proof as to the mystery man that Montgomery mentioned."

Carter gave him a wry smile. "Ah yes, the man who supposedly is pulling the strings, well let me just say this, that man whomever he might be is probably a phantom and I am not going to spend any resources on chasing down ghosts."

She paused and turned to Ryan and Esposito. "When you've got something solid, let me know."

And with that she was gone.

The minute Carter was out of ear short, Ryan and Esposito turned their attention back to Castle. "What have you got bro?" Esposito asked.

"Something that'll lead us to Beckett?" Ryan asked.

Castle nodded. "I think so, but..."

"But what?" they asked almost in tandem.

"But I'm not sure that you're going to like this."

"If it gets Beckett back then I don't care if it's the mayor himself who's behind all this..." Esposito stated, watching as Castle accessed the main piece of information. A picture which showed the man in charge speaking to someone in shadows.

"Is that?" Ryan asked, not finishing his sentence as he leaned forward to get a better look.

"It can't be," Esposito added.

Castle shook his head. "But it is."

"So what do we do?"

Castle looked to Ryan. "We go to him."

"Fishing trip?" Esposito asked. "I mean, what else do we have?"

"This should be enough to get us what we need," Castle pointed out. "And if it's not, I've got a few tricks up my sleeves."

"We're going to have to clear this by the Captain," Ryan pointed out.

"The Ice Queen?" Esposito asked. "No way."

"Is she that bad?"

Esposito nodded. "She is bro, she's just..."

"...not Montgomary," Ryan added. "She has us on lock down,"

"No one leaves without her consent."

Castle sighed. "Then we should see if we can't talk to her."

"No man," Esposito argued. "We go, you stay."

Castle's face crumpled. "But..."

"Just for this meeting," Ryan assured. "When it comes to confronting this guy an getting Beckett back you'll be with us."

"Like always," Esposito added.

And with that said, Castle watched as his two friends went towards the office of their new boss.

...

Carter looked up to see Ryan and Esposito standing in her doorway. They looked anxious and nervous and she wondered what it was that they had found that made them so jumpy. "Find something boys?" she asked, deciding to get straight to the point rather than beating around the bush. "Beckett doesn't have much time left if this follows the trend of most kidnapping cases."

Esposito nodded, doing his best to try and keep his cool. "We know that which is why we want to go talk to the Mayor."

Carter's eyes widened. "Why the Mayor."

"We think that he might be involved in this," Ryan answered.

"Another wild goose chase."

"No ma'am," Esposito assured. "We've got proof."

Carter sighed as Esposito held out Castle's phone. "Mister Castle's phone..."

"Please," Ryan asked. "Just take a look."

Carter nodded reluctantly. "Let me see."

Esposito handed over the phone and they both watched as Carter scanned through the photos. No look of surprise or horror passed over her face. Then they watched as she locked the phone in one of her desk drawers before looking back up at them, an unreadable expression on her face.

"What Mister Castle has found is nothing but a hoax," she stated. "A desperate attempt by a desperate man to try and help but following such an outrageous lead would only lead you both and probably Beckett into danger so I am ordering you to ignore this... do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Ma'am," Ryan muttered.

"If that's your orders," Esposito added.

"Good," Carter stated as her eyes flicked back down to the mountain of paperwork on her desk. "Now go."

...

Castle watched anxiously as Ryan and Esposito emerged from Carter's office. "Well?" he asked.

Ryan shrugged. "She said no."

"But we're still going to do this?"

"Hell yeah bro," Esposito replied. "You've got the files safe?"

"I dropped them in my safety deposit box on my way here and there are copies of the pictures on my computer and one of my more obscure e-mails. They'll never find all the copies."

"And your phone is in her desk," Ryan added.

"So we go?" Castle asked.

Esposito nodded. "We go."

TBC—hopefully sooner than later.


	9. Chapter 9

DISCLAIMER: The characters of CASTLE do not belong to me, they belong to ABC, I'm just borrowing them for a while, for my enjoyment and hopefully yours as well.

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Over a month since I last updated. Sorry, so sorry. I'm hoping that I'll get this story done by the 19__th__ of September, which is when CASTLE is coming back and based on the spoilers and the previews / promo's that I've seen it's going to be a great season. :D So anyways, please enjoy this chapter, and if you've got the time leave a review 'cause I love reading what you think!_

**Chapter Nine**

Castle and the boys climbed into their undercover car and drove to City Hall. As they drove, they talked about ways to approach the situation. They didn't want to go full force because that might spook the mayor and put Kate in even greater danger. Ryan and Esposito wanted to corner the mayor and make him talk, but Castle made them realize that he was probably the best one out of all of them to get the mayor talking. "If we play our cards right, we should be able to figure out where Kate is by nightfall," Castle told the boys.

"Yeah and if we do this wrong, Beckett could be dead by nightfall." Ryan added.

"Positive thinking bro," Esposito said. "We're going to get her back."

"Course we are," Castle agreed. "We've got to."

…

"I'm sorry," the mayor's secretary apologized for the third time. "But like I've said, the mayor is not available to speak to anyone right now."

Castle put on his most charming smile. "Alice, I know that the Mayor is a busy man. But this is really important and I promise that it won't take more than five minutes. So do you think that you could buzz us in?"

Alice Wright sighed. Castle was one of her favourite frequent visitors to the mayor, not to mention that he was one of her most favourite authors as well and never failed to give her a signed copy of his newest book. She knew that she'd do almost anything for him, and the long standing crush that she had on the bachelor was one of the reasons why she was willing to break the rules.

"Alright, I'll be straight with you Mister Castle,"

"Rick," he interrupted. "How many times have I asked you to call me Rick."

Alice blushed. "Rick, the Mayor isn't here right now."

"No?" asked Esposito, surprised at that.

Alice nodded. "He's not expected back at all today."

"Do you know where he is?" Ryan asked. "A function or something?"

Alice clicked a couple of times on her computer nodded again. "He was at the opening of an Art Gallery this morning, but right now he's at a celebration function for his wife's charity work. It's on the roof of the Esquire building and he'll be there till ten or so."

"Thanks Alice," Castle thanked as Ryan and Esposito were already leaving.

"Don't mention it," she replied in a low voice. "Seriously, okay?"

Castle winked at her. "My lips are sealed."

And with that said, Castle was gone as well.

…

"So this is the Esquire building," Ryan muttered as they got out of the car. Tall and impressive, the Esquire building was one of the newest building to be built in Manhattan. It was a shining jewel in the Trump Towers Corporation and it housed a multitude of shops on the ground and first four floors, offices for various other companies on levels five through fifteen and high end condos on floors fifteen through forty. However, Castle and the boys had no interest in the first forty floors. What they wanted was at the very top and they quickly found the elevator that would take them to the top. Unfortunately a private security officer guarded it.

"I'm sorry," he apologized in a tone that wasn't very apologetic at all. "But you can't go up there."

Castle flashed the man a grin. "Course I can, I'm Richard Castle. I'm here to see the Mayor."

"I know who you are sir," the guard stated. "And I'm sorry but you can't go up."

"Just put a call into the Mayor," Castle asked. "I know that you guys have his number, to let him know of any potential danger. Just let him know that I'm here."

The guard looked at Castle and shook his head. "Sorry."

Castle sighed and looked to the boys for back up. Ryan and Esposito just shared a look and then instantly showed them their badges. "Is this enough credentials for you?" Esposito asked, watching as the guard nodded and stepped aside.

"Hit the R button," he told them as the doors opened. "It'll take you to the top."

"Thank you," Castle said as he was the last to step inside.

The doors closed and the boys stood in stony silence on the ride up.

…

"Castle!" the Mayor exclaimed with a smile as he saw Castle weaving his way through the crowd. "What a pleasant surprise. What brings you here."

"You've heard about Detective Beckett, haven't you?"

The mayor's grin instantly disintegrated. "Yes. Terrible thing. What can I do?"

"We'd like to talk to you sir," Ryan added from behind the mayor.

"It won't take long," Esposito promised.

The mayor looked from the cops to Castle and realized that he was cornered. "Of course," he said at last. "Let's find a quiet corner.

…

"So?" the Mayor asked as they found a spot near an emergency stairwell.

"We're friends," Castle asked. "Aren't we?"

"Course we are," the Mayor assured. "Castle, what is this all about."

"Detective Beckett has been kidnapped, by the same people who killed Captain Montgomery," Castle explained warily.

"Dear me," the mayor muttered shaking his head. "What's my city coming to?"

"Yes sir," Ryan began cautiously. "It is your city."

"And we think that you might know something."

The Mayor's eyes narrowed. "You think I had something to do with Montgomery's death? He was my friend."

"Course he was," Castle interjected, trying to keep things civil. "We know that."

"It sounds like you're accusing me of something,"

"No sir," Ryan assured.

"We just thought—"

"I'll tell you what you thought," The Mayor said, interrupting Esposito. "You thought that you'd be able to come here, to my wife's grand evening and accuse me of being embroiled in a conspiracy that could bring this city to its knees."

"Mayor I—"

"Rick you're my friend too," he interrupted again. "But I'm asking you now to leave and not darken my doorway again with such unfounded and unbelievable accusations."

"But—"

"Yes," Castle stated quickly, stopping Ryan or Esposito from saying anything. "Of course. I am sorry."

The Mayor's face softened a little bit. "Course you are. Now if you'll excuse me, I trust that you gentlemen will be able to show yourselves out."

"Yes," Castle assured. "Have a good evening."

…

Back on street level Ryan and Esposito could barely contain their anger. "He's lying to us," Ryan muttered darkly as they got back into the car.

"Course he is," Esposito agreed. "But aside form going to him with proof,"

"We don't want to spook him," Castle interjected.

"We might have done that already," Ryan pointed out.

"So what do we do now?" Castle asked. "We can't just sit here."

The three boys looked blankly at each other.

"We can't let the mayor out of our sight," Ryan said at last.

"We're going to have to put a tail on her," Esposito added.

"Your new captain isn't going to like that." Castle pointed out.

Esposito's eyes narrowed. "I don't care. Beckett's our leader, our friend, I'm will to risk the wrath of God himself if it'll get her back… what about you two?"

"I'm with you," Ryan assured.

"Well bro?"

Castle looked both men in the eyes. "What did you have in mind?"

TBC— Again, hopefully sooner rather than later.

What do the boys have in mind?

What will Jenny & Lanie and Alexis and Martha think of all this?

You'll have to read the next chapter to find out. :D


	10. Chapter 10

DISCLAIMER: The characters of the television show, CASTLE do not belong to me. They belong to the ABC network. I'm borrowing them for a little while, for my enjoyment and hopefully yours as well. I am getting no financial gain from this.

Author's Note: So the days are counting down till CASTLE returns. OMG. I'm so excited! This is the second last chapter you all, so if you want to review, please do so at the end of reading this one! :)

**Chapter 10**

"What do you mean you're going after Beckett?" Alexis asked, as she watched her dad pick up his writer's bullet proof vest. "I thought you didn't know where she was."

"We don't," Castle confirmed as he doubled checked everything that he had. "But the Mayor is the crook behind almost everything and we're pretty sure that we spooked him. So the boys and I figure that if we follow the mayor we'll find Kate. And if we can find Kate then we can rescue her."

"Yeah but Dad that sounds super dangerous," Alexis pointed out.

"We've been in worse scrapes before I think,"

"No Dad," Alexis argued. "You really haven't."

"Doesn't matter," Castle dismissed as he packed what he needed into a bag.

"Course it does," Alexis said in a tone that made Castle stop.

"Alexis?" he asked. "Something wrong?"

Alexis nodded. "Course there is. You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Now honey,"

"Dad I'm worried for you." Alexis explained, looking as though she was sorry for saying what she was saying, but then again she looked as though she was relieved that she was telling him how she really felt. "Ever since you've been following Detective Beckett around things have just gotten worse, especially lately."

"Now Alexis you know that that's the nature of the job."

"But that's just it!" she exclaimed. "It's not a part of YOUR job. You're a writer Dad. That's what you do. You spend your life clacking away at your keyboard. There's no chance of you getting hurt."

"Now you know that I've had a couple close calls when I've been doing research,"

"But that was just research Dad," Alexis continued. "You haven't been out there risking your life. I'm scared for you."

"Oh honey,"

"Dad I want you to promise me something,"

Castle sighed and nodded. "Anything."

"I don't want you go to after Detective Beckett."

"Alexis,"

"I know that she means the world to you Dad," she interrupted. "But I don't want to lose you."

Castle said nothing, he merely hugged his daughter and pondered how he was going to break this promise that she asked of him. He knew that Alexis had his best interests at heart, but there was no way that he was going to abandon Kate now. And he had to make her see that.

"Alexis, I want you to look at me," he said at last, pushing his daughter backwards ever so gently so that he could look at her in the eyes. "If Ashley was in trouble, wouldn't you do anything for him?"

"Course."

"And why is that?"

"I like him."

Castle nodded. "Well it's the same for Kate and I, only I more than like her."

"Dad I know that you have feelings for her,"

"It's more than that," he interrupted. "I love her."

Alexis stared wide-eyed at her father. There had always been a part of her that wondered if Kate Beckett was just an infatuation that would pass like all the others but the look on her father's face, let Alexis know once and for all that he was not just thinking of having a passing fling with Kate. He really was in love with her.

"I love her," he repeated. "And I'm going to do anything for her."

Alexis bit her bottom lip and tried to think of something to say.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?"

She nodded.

"Good," Castle said as he kissed her on the forehead. "Now stay here, and wait till I come home."

Alexis just sat there as her father picked up the bag and left the room. When Castle got to his front door he saw his mother standing there looking absolutely petrified. He thought for one moment that she was trying to try and talk him out of saving Kate but Martha said nothing. She just kissed her son on the cheek and gave him a hug. Castle took that as a sign that his mother was behind his decision and did not feel all that bad about leaving his apartment.

…

Ryan and Esposito were waiting for him when he got downstairs. Castle climbed into the back of their car after putting his vest on. They had already bugged the Mayor's car and had fed the live results to the GPS on the dashboard. The three men sat in silence waiting until suddenly, the little light that designated the mayor's car blinked and began to move.

Esposito put the car into gear and took off after their prize. After about half an hour of driving they came to an abandoned warehouse in a bad part of town. Ryan and Esposito got out of their car guns drawn and Castle stood behind them.

"Here bro," Esposito said as he offered Castle a weapon. "We'll take it slow."

"Sounds like a plan," Castle agreed as he took the weapon. The Mayor's car was parked in front of a side entrance and there was no sign of him so the three boys assumed that he was still inside.

Slowly and quietly they walked to the door and on the silent count of three Ryan and Esposito opened it up. They met no resistance and so they pressed their advantage.

…

Kate finally came to and saw the one person that she was not expecting to see glaring over her. "Mayor?" she asked groggily as she tried to focus her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"You know I would have thought that Montgomery would have learned," the mayor ranted, he looked dishevelled and worried and a little bit drunk. "I warned him, or rather I got the message to him that if he wasn't careful you'd be dead. And look, he ignored me."

Kate shook her head, trying to clear it. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I was the one behind all those murders!" he exclaimed. "Sure I hired people to do the actual killing but I'm the one who ordered them."

Kate felt her mouth go dry as she realized that the mayor was admitting to killing Montgomery, the others and her mother. "Sir…" she began quietly. "Why?"

The mayor shook his head and laughed like a maniac. Kate took that moment to scope out the room and realized that there was no real chance of escape. A big beefy guy guarded the one entrance, she was tied to a chair and the mayor had a gun on her.

"Why not?" he said at last. "They were in my way so I got rid of them. And now I'm going to have to get rid of you, and your friend Castle."

Kate felt her heart stop at that. "He's your friend too," she wanted to say but she stopped when the guard's walky-talky sounded off. From Kate's vantage point she could hear the words 'intruders' and 'cops' which lead her to believe that the cavalry was here.

"It's over," she finally said. "They're coming for you."

"Oh no," the mayor warned. "I don't think so. Jack, go after them."

The guard nodded and left Kate alone with the crazy mayor.

"Now Kate," he said in a creepy voice. "It's just you and me."

…

They boys got separated. They ran into a gaggle of guards and while Ryan and Esposito went one way, Castle went the other. He really didn't want to get separated, though at the same time he knew that he had to find Kate. Up ahead he heard a door open and saw a big beefy guard exit. Through the crack, Castle could see the mayor holding a gun to a very bedraggled, but quite alive Kate.

"Now Kate," the mayor was saying as Castle slipped through the door, catching it before it closed. "It's just you and me."

The mayor raised his gun to shoot Kate and without even thinking about it, Castle fired. He caught the mayor in the leg and when the man screamed and fell to the side, Castle ran over and started untying Kate from the chair.

"Come on," he stated, as soon as he got her free. "Let's go."

Hand in hand, they raced to the door, Kate slowing them down significantly. A shot rang out and they turned briefly to see that the Mayor had struggled to his feet and was now pointing his gun at them.

"Don't you go anywhere," he warned. "I am not going down like this."

Castle opened his mouth to speak but the mayor shot again.

TBC

Aren't I evil? -cackle-


	11. Chapter 11

DISCLAIMER: The characters of the television show, CASTLE does not belong to me. They belong to the ABC network. I'm borrowing them for a little while, for my enjoyment and hopefully yours as well. I am getting no financial gain from this.

**Chapter 11 **

The mayor's gun rang out, and Kate reacted. She grabbed Castle's gun from his hand and fired off the remaining rounds into the mayor. Then she watched as the man that she had voted for, the man who basically was her boss fell to the ground dead. A huge weight seemed to have lifted off Kate's shoulders as she saw his eyes close. But then she heard Castle stumble backwards.

"Castle?" she asked concerned as she turned to face him. And that's when she saw the bullet hole in his chest. With a horrifying jolt she realized that the mayor's bullets must have been Teflon coated, which meant that Castle's bulletproof vest didn't stand a chance.

Castle just looked down at his wound at Kate with wide eyes and a pale face. She hadn't often seen fear in his eyes, but as Castle slumped against the wall and fell the ground she could not only see his fear, but she felt it too.

"No," she pleaded as she put her hands against the wound. "Castle."

"K.." he sputtered, some blood on the corner of his mouth.

"Oh god," Kate whispered as the door to the room suddenly opened up. Ryan and Esposito entered and the moment that they saw that Castle was hurt they were both on their cell phones calling for an ambulance.

"Stay with me Rick," she pleaded as she looked into his face. "Stay with me."

"Kate…" he whispered.

"Shush," she ordered. "Don't say anything."

"L—love you," he breathed out as he gave a shudder.

"They're about four minutes out," Esposito said, but Kate didn't hear him.

"I know," she said with a nod as she kept her hands tight against his wound.

Castle gave her a weak smile before his eyes closed.

"No!" Kate shouted as she felt for a pulse. When she found one she thanked his lucky stars that he wasn't dead yet and prayed that the ambulance would get there soon.

…

The ride to the hospital was some of the most nerve wracking moments of Kate's life. The minute that the paramedics had found them, they had instantly set to work on stabilizing Castle. When they got to the hospital, Kate could only watch as he was taken into surgery. At first she was terrified, but then when she saw Josh entering the operation room, she felt as though everything was falling apart.

"Kate," he said in surprise as he came over to her. "Are you—?"

"Save him," she pleaded.

Josh looked to the doors. "That's…?"

"Rick," Castle choked out. "Please. I know that things between us have ended badly… but if you cared for me at all you'll do whatever it takes to save him."

Josh just looked at Kate, feeling very defeated. She could see how much she loved the writer and knew that there was no way that he'd ever have a chance. "I'm a Doctor," he said in a monotone voice. "I'll do my job."

Kate nodded and allowed Ryan to lead her to a chair.

Twenty minutes later Alexis and Martha came bursting into the operation room. "My Dad?" Alexis asked at once, looking to Kate. "Is he?"

"In surgery," she answered as she stood up. "Alexis, Martha… I'm so sorry."

"Think nothing of it," Martha stated as she hugged Kate. "My son has always been willing to risk his life for you, but he's tough as nails. I know that he's going to be alright."

…

The hours seemed to drag by. Kate, Alexis and Martha all sat beside each other, occasionally swapping humorous Castle stories, but spending the majority of the time in silence. Ryan and Esposito were called back to the precinct where Kate was sure they'd be chewed out by their new boss for defying orders and she wondered if they'd even have jobs at the end of the new Captain's rant.

Kate's father Jim came by with a change of clothes and was so thankful that his daughter had been returned to him. "I was so scared for you," he whispered to her in a quiet corner of the operation waiting room. "What if I had lost you?"

"I can't do this anymore," she murmured as she looked at her hands.

"Kate?" he asked.

Kate looked at her father. "Being a cop. I can't do this."

"Now Kate,"

"If I wasn't a cop, Castle wouldn't have wanted to shadow me and if he hadn't wanted to shadow me then we wouldn't have got in this mess and he wouldn't be lying on that operating table now—"

"You can't stop being a cop," Alexis piped up, Kate's voice had carried to the other side of the small room, so the red-haired girl had obviously heard every word. "You've done so much good work."

Kate shook her head. "I don't know how you can say that."

"I can say that because you've done so much good for my Dad."

"Alexis,"

"Detective," Alexis interrupted. "You might think that you've gotten my Dad into this mess, but the truth is that he could have been in this position during any of his researching for any of his other books. It's the nature of his job."

"He's a writer," Kate pointed out.

Alexis shook her head. "He's not just a writer. He's your partner, your friend."

"Then this is my fault."

"No," Alexis insisted. "Don't you see? You've changed his life. For the better."

Kate just stared at the young girl as she continued on.

"Before you, my Dad was a bit of a mess. He was a great writer and a great father sure, but he wasn't really happy. He bounced around from relationship to relationship, marriage to marriage. He had everything in the world except someone that he could trust with his heart and soul…"

"What are you saying Alexis?"

Alexis backed away, shaking her head. "I'm not saying anything that isn't my place to say, but I know that if my Dad had a choice between knowing you and being in this situation now or not knowing you and being at home right now… he'd choose you a thousand times over."

Finally, just when they were beginning to lose hope, Josh emerged from the emergency room. Kate could tell the minute that her former boyfriend emerged that Castle was going to be okay, and she instantly pushed pass so that she could see Castle being wheeled through to the ICU.

"He's going to be alright I think," Josh was telling Martha and Alexis. "Though we'll know in a couple hours."

"When can I see him?" Kate asked, turning around.

"I want the nurses to give you a once over, make sure that you're alright and then you can sit with him," Josh answered with a small smile. Kate gave him a thank you smile in return and then watched as he walked away.

…

The nurses checked her out, and she was fine just as she knew that she was. Her stitches were still in place, and aside from being slightly dehydrated; there was nothing wrong with her. Once she was given a clean bill of health, and a change of clothes, she was taken to Castle's private room in intensive care and watched through the window as Alexis and Martha sat with him. She stayed outside, sitting on a chair thinking about all the things she wanted to say to Castle when he woke up.

First and foremost she was going to tell him how she felt. He had told her twice that he loved her, and Kate hadn't been able to return the sentiment. Second she was going to tell him off for nearly getting himself killed and third, she was going to kiss him. It was something that she had wanted to do ever since they had kissed while they were undercover. It had started out as something to keep the bad guys off guard, but Kate had found herself going back in for more.

That was the moment, she realized. The moment that she couldn't deny her feelings any more and even though she had inklings of how she felt back when Castle left for the Hamptons for the summer so that he could get his book written she had never been in a place where she could actually admit to anyone let alone herself how she felt about her shadow.

"Kate dear?" Martha asked with a soft voice, interrupting Kate's musings. "Alexis and I are going to return to the apartment to get a few things for him, do you want to watch him for a while?"

Kate nodded. "I'd like that."

Martha gave her a smile. "Good dear. We'll see you in a little while."

Martha and Alexis left, and Kate walked into Castle's room.

TBC

_Author's Note: Okay, I lied. One more chapter to go. Don't hate me. And please review. :D_


	12. Chapter 12

DISCLAIMER: The characters of the television show, CASTLE does not belong to me. They belong to the ABC network. I'm borrowing them for a little while, for my enjoyment and hopefully yours as well. I am getting no financial gain from this.

_Author's Note: Yay! CASTLE returns tomorrow! I'm so excited. So freaking excited! I can only HOPE that the new season lives up to my expectations. Anyways, here's chapter twelve!_

**Chapter Twelve**

Whatever Kate expected when she walked into Castle's room, it wasn't what she saw. She had always relied on him as a source of strength, a pillar of support that was always there when she needed him, and seeing him pale and seemingly lifeless was almost too much for her to take. "Oh Castle…" she whispered softly as she sat down beside him and tentatively reached out for his hand. "What have I done to you…?"

While Kate half expected an answer right away, the other half of her knew that she wasn't going to get one. Not yet anyways. Kate had so much to say to him, and while saying it now while he was unconscious was something that she wanted to do, Kate's resolve won out and she was determined to wait until he was actually awake before she told him everything.

She had been sat there for an hour or so when Josh walked in. Kate looked up in surprise, for some reason she had thought that she wouldn't be seeing him again, but she mentally shook that thought away because of course she'd be seeing him. He was a doctor, she was in a hospital, he operated on Castle, and their paths were bound to cross sooner or later.

"Hi," he said awkwardly.

"Hi," she replied, feeling just as awkward as he looked.

"I just wanted to let you know that he's sure to make a full recovery," Josh stated, watching how Kate's eyes lit up with gladness at the news. "He might be out of it for a while, a couple hours at the least but… there shouldn't be any problems post-op."

Kate smiled thankfully. "Josh…"

"No," he interjected, holding a hand up to stop her before she could even start. "Let's not say anymore Kate we uh, we both have said all that we need to say."

Kate nodded. "I suppose you're right. But I'd still like to say thank you."

"Thanks have got nothing to do with it," Josh said solemnly. "I was just doing my job."

Kate wanted to thank him none-the-less, but before she could Josh turned and left, without so much as a goodbye. With a sigh, Kate turned to Castle and gripped his hand just a little tighter. "I suppose that it's for the best," she said aloud, knowing that even if he couldn't hear her, she needed to get some things off her chest. "Me saying goodbye to Josh that is, or rather him saying goodbye to me… you know it is strange Castle. I never really expected to even start dating a guy like Josh but he sort of fell into my world and I, I was grasping at straws I guess. You were right you know. I was with a guy that I didn't love. I've always done that. I'm not sure why… it's not that I don't want to be loved it's just that…" Kate paused and tried to put her feelings into words. "It's just that I've always been afraid to love. I've always been afraid to seize a moment when it came along and I, I was afraid to seize what was between us from the start."

Kate paused again and looked at Castle. Despite the fact that was pale, and despite the fact that he was hooked up to machines, he really was the most ruggedly handsome man that she had ever met. But more than that, she knew that his spirit was kindred to hers. They complimented each other. They completed each other. She couldn't imagine a world without him in her life. Castle had wormed his way so far under her skin that she knew that she'd never be able to let him go.

"I love you Castle," she whispered as she put her forehead to his hand. "And when you wake up, I'm going to tell you every day."

"Tell me what everyday?" asked a small quiet hoarse voice.

Kate felt her heart skip a beat and she looked up. "Castle?" she asked, watching as his eyes fluttered open. "Oh my god. Castle?"

"Here," he answered with a grimace as he squinted his eyes, clearly in pain. "Though, I feel as though I've just been shot."

"You have," Kate replied quickly. "I mean you were, I mean…" she paused and smiled at him. "You were brilliant in that warehouse."

Castle looked at Kate as though she was crazy. "How brilliant could I have been when I got myself shot?"

Kate laughed despite herself and then she collected herself with a breath. "You saved me," she said very quietly, and very honestly. "And I, I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you."

Castle glanced down at their joined hands and then back to the door with a confused look on his face. "Was Josh here?" he asked.

"Josh?" Kate asked, slightly taken aback by his abrupt change in conversation. "Uh, yeah he was for a bit. He was one of the physicians who operated on you."

"Really?" he inquired. "He saved me?"

Kate nodded. "He did."

"Would have thought that he would have just let me die."

"What?" exclaimed Kate. "Why would you say that?"

"Well he said…" Castle began before realizing that he really didn't want to tell Kate how Josh had said that he was the better man for her and how she would pick him in the end. "…nothing," he said at last. "Forget it."

Kate wanted to protest but decided to press on with what she wanted to tell him once he woke up. "Alright," she agreed. "But you know what I won't forget? What I'll never forget?"

"What's that?" Castle asked curiously.

"The way that you looked into my eyes as you held me," Kate answered, in a quiet whisper. "And told me, that you loved me."

Castle's eyes went wide. "You did hear me."

"Course I heard you," Kate answered with a smile. "How could I not?"

"Well, you had just been shot."

"I know," Kate agreed, rubbing her own battle wound which was still healing and was quite remarkably not infected due to the lack of care she received when she had been kidnapped from the hospital. "I'm just sorry for one thing."

"Sorry for ever letting me near you?" Castle asked rhetorically. He saw the wild confusion in Kate's eyes and so he continued speaking. "If I hadn't shadowed you, if I never pressed you to look into your mothers case again, if I hadn't prompted you to follow every lead you wouldn't have—"

"Castle," she said sharply, before sighing and continuing on softer. "None of what happened was your fault, just like you getting shot wasn't my fault. I could think that it was," she continued. "I could say that because I got kidnapped you got shot but wallowing in self pity isn't going to get us anywhere, especially considering that we're both alive."

"Yeah," Castle agreed with a sigh. "Suppose you're right… so what—?"

"What was I sorry about?" Kate asked, finishing his question before he had even had a chance to ask it. "As I lay dying, and yes Castle I was dying in front of your eyes just as assuredly as you were dying in front of mine in the warehouse…" she paused, realized that she was rambling and recollected herself. "I only had one thought in my head, and I was sorry that I didn't get a chance to say it aloud."

"And what thought was that?" Castle asked, waiting with baited breath. Just as he had awoken, he could have sworn that he heard Kate say that she loved him, but those moments between sleeping and awake were fuzzy. He remembered hearing Josh's voice, and he remembered Kate talking to him, but he hadn't been awake enough to grasp everything, just that she loved him— though Castle wasn't about to believe it until she actually told him because too many times since he admitted to himself that he loved her had he dreamed that she returned the sentiment.

Kate smiled and leaned down so that their faces were just inches apart. "I love you too." And before Castle could say anything, Kate captured his lips with her own. This kiss was soft, tender and nothing like their first undercover kiss had been. That kiss had felt as though they were two lovers on fire for each other, this one made them both feel as though they were lovers reuniting after a long absence from each other, and as far as first kisses went, both Castle and Kate would agree, that that one in the hospital was their first kiss.

When Kate finally pulled away, she could see the look of utter bewilderment and happy surprise on Castle's face. He was bewildered she was sure, because he thought that there was no way that she would ever return his feelings, and he was happy at the surprise of her kissing him because it was something that he had wanted to do for quite a while now. Kate smiled at him before hitting him slightly on the arm.

"Ow," he said with a wince, "What was that for."

"You almost got yourself killed Castle," she said sounding more annoyed than she really felt. If truth be told, Kate had been terrified when she thought that she was going to lose him, and she wanted to instill in him that he wasn't ever to put her through that again.

"Sorry," he said with a sheepish grin, thankful to be alive. "Guess we're even though."

Kate nodded and felt all the anger and worry drain from her. "Yeah," she agreed. "Guess we are" and with that said, she leaned down for another kiss.

_Author's Note 2: And here we have it folks, the last chapter, but not the last chapter because I couldn't end the story here. I've got an epilogue to come. I hope you enjoyed this chapter though, and do take the time to review it! And don't worry, there is an epilogue coming tomorrow just before CASTLE season 4 premieres _


	13. Epilogue

DISCLAIMER: The characters of the television show, CASTLE does not belong to me. They belong to the ABC network. I'm borrowing them for a little while, for my enjoyment and hopefully yours as well. I am getting no financial gain from this.

**Epilogue**

Kate had been yelled at by her commanders before, but she hadn't experienced anything like the ring-out that she received from Captain Carter. Kate learned that not only were Ryan and Esposito on probation for what they had done, but that Castle was no longer welcome in the precinct. Kate would have thought that the fact that she had been put on rest and relaxation would have been the icing on the proverbial cake, especially when it was coupled with the fact that Carter was re-evaluating Kate's place in the precinct.

Normally, Kate would have been furious at the prospect of potentially losing her job, but the course of events from her mother's death, Montgomery's death, her near death experience and Castle's had shown her that her job wasn't the be all and end all like she thought it was. There were more important things, like being really and truly happy. Castle made Kate that happy. With him, she could have a life outside of work, she could have a home that actually felt warm and inviting, and she could have a family that she loved and adored.

For Castle, he was immensely thankful to have Kate by his side when he said goodbye to Alexis at her college. Having his little girl leave him was a blow that he hadn't been prepared for. Mentally he knew that it was coming, but he had always assumed that she'd finish grade twelve first. Having her leave before he was ready was something that Castle was having a hard time coming to grips with and it was by having Kate beside him, which helped him through it. But more than that, Castle was glad that both he and Kate had a chance to start fresh. She completed him in a way that no one had in the past and he was determined to make their relationship work.

After seeing Alexis off, they returned to his apartment in New York City alone. Martha had gone out to mingle with her Broadway friends leaving the two love birds alone. Since Castle had been discharged from the hospital, and Kate had been given some time to rest up she had spent almost every night at Castle's apartment. For the first time they both really felt as though they were home, and they were determined to seize every moment from that moment on, together.

END

_Author's Note: And there we have it folks, this is the end of my little post season 3 ficlett. I'm so glad that you guys stuck with me this summer even though I didn't update every Monday like I promised to do. You should be glad to know that I did complete the story exactly as I set out to do, and I hope that you all enjoyed it! Thanks again so much for all the wonderful reviews, all the story alerts the favourites and all the rest. You guys have really made my summer. This is your last chance to review, so I'd love it if you guys let me know what you thought whether it be for the first time, or the twelfth. :D _

_And as for tonights episode... well I liked it but I've got to say it didn't live up to all my expectations. Kate was such a b-tch when she woke up and I know that she was only like that 'cause she had to deal with Castle's confession and the shooting but I don't know, personally I like my story a little better... oh well. We've got another fun filled CASTLE year so here's hoping that they actually get together this season!_

_Take care dear readers!_


End file.
